Don’t forget the high price of air travel

I’ve read all the articles in your paper bemoaning and attempting to explain the declining numbers of passengers using Burbank Airport. Some officials have blamed the cost of parking, and others have talked about the unattractive terminal and the departure of American Airlines as reasons for declining ridership. While all these factors probably have some merit, I have yet to see in the News-Press the one and only factor that determines which airport we choose: Flying into Burbank costs more!

My sister flies here from St. Louis three to four times a year to visit us in Glendale. I would dearly love to avoid the long, pain-in-the-rear drive through gridlocked downtown to LAX and back, but a round-trip ticket to Burbank costs $100 to $300 more than flying into LAX. Unless someone is traveling on an expense account and doesn’t pay for his own ticket, money does matter. That cost differential is significant for many of us and certainly makes our choice obvious. I do wonder how many travelers would much rather avoid the hassle at LAX and, instead, fly into Burbank if the price of a ticket were the same? I think the numbers would be significant.

Jene Tattini
Glendale